Boston Celtics Weekly Preview

The Celtics are sitting at 11-9 on the season, putting them in fourth place in a very competitive Atlantic Division. It’s time to take a look at their upcoming opponents this week to see if they can build up some momentum.

With the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers all playing sound basketball, the Celtics can no longer afford to slack off during the regular season, or they risk losing out on a playoff spot.

Boston has now alternated wins and losses over their last seven games heading into Wednesday’s home date with the Dallas Mavericks. The public may be all over the Celtics with their NBA picks for this matchup, but the Mavericks are performing at a reasonably high level even without Dirk Nowitzki on the court.

The schedule only gets tougher for the Celtics though, as they’ll play two road games over the week.

First off they’ll tangle up with James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Boston is going to have an extremely difficult time limiting Harden completely, and will need to bring it offensively if they want to have any chance of walking away with the win. The Rockets are one of the most lethal offensive teams in the NBA and have numerous players who can hit the three.

The next night, the Celtics will play a road game against the San Antonio Spurs, who currently have the league’s best record. No one can stop the Spurs right now, meaning Boston is going to have to execute almost perfectly (especially on offense) if they’re to have any chance of scoring an upset win.

A road victory over a team like San Antonio could be just what Doc Rivers’ team needs to go on a run and make up some ground in the division.